Microsoft set to cut 2,850 more jobs from smartphone sector

According to a report, the latest job cuts mean that a majority of former Nokia employees will no longer be working at Microsoft

Technology giant Microsoft has announced that it plans to lay off an additional 2,850 workers to the previously announced 1,850 jobs it had earlier said it would slash in May.

After the failed $7.6 billion Nokia experiment amid growing losses in the smartphone hardware business segment, job cuts would primarily affects its smartphone business and global sales unit.

In a regulatory filing, the tech giant said it will cut 4,700 jobs globally by the end of fiscal year 2017, ‘PC World’ reported on Friday.

Last June, Microsoft had announced it will cut 7,400 jobs from the smartphone business unit.

Microsoft will cut 4,700 jobs worldwide by the end of the company’s fiscal year 2017 in total.

Earlier in May, signalling the end of its Nokia experiment, Microsoft announced it was cutting 1,850 jobs and writing off $950 million, of which $200 million will be used for severance payments.

“We are focusing our phone efforts where we have differentiation — with enterprises that value security, manageability and our continuum capability, and consumers who value the same,” Indian-born Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement.

“We will continue to innovate across devices and on our cloud services across all mobile platforms,” Nadella added.

According to a report in ‘The Verge’, the latest job cuts mean that a majority of former Nokia employees will no longer be working at Microsoft.

Almost a year ago, Nadella had announced a “more effective and focused phone portfolio” with business, value phones and flagships gaining prominence.

“We’re scaling back, but we’re not out!” said Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s head of Windows and devices.

“Phone success has been limited to companies valuing our commitment to security, manageability, and continuum, and with consumers who value the same,” Nadella added.

Microsoft’s Lumia and Windows Phone strategy has failed as both sales and Windows’ phone market share have declined since the tech giant’s mobile restructuring last year.